I WON’T STOP LEARNING, BY ROBERTO

Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands, Connemara, GALWAY, and a feeling inside you saying that you are really enjoying life. Those lands are unbelievable, the last County I will visit in Ireland. Previously, I loved the rest of big cities in my new Island: Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Galway. Poker. Furthermore, If one travels with a good company, one will never forget the trip.

We rented a car to go to Connemara. It was the first time I have ever drove on the right seat of a car. However, I got the hang of that fast. Along our journey, we came across a lovely ewe lamb lost on the road. We stopped the car and we made possible that the little lamb was with its mother again, as you can see on the photo below.

Last weeks, we have been developing “Paralympic Games” in the different clubs we are running, in Brookfield, Crumlim, and MCulliam. So I contacted with The Irish Amputee Football Association, in order to bring somebody who talks with the children, because I personally think that education through Sport can be highly effective for children, above all for difficult ones, and If you add something about overcoming difficulties, it will just be a success.

The skills of the Amputees Footballers are surprising, as you can check in the video below, in which Irish National Team was playing against Brazil in the World Cup in 2014. The rules of the game follow those of standard football, but with a few notable exceptions. Outfield players must have an amputation at or above the ankle, and use crutches. Goalkeepers must be amputated at or above the wrist. The use of prosthesis´s is prohibited.

On the other hand, I had a talk with the mother of my Mentee in One2One project, whom I really thanks to come over, having had very goods words to me about what and how I am working with her son, and the overcomes we are getting in his life. It made me so happy.

Chris Mc Elligot, the coach of the Irish National Team of Amputees, came over and told children his experience as “a normal footballer” in a professional team such as Ballymore County Football Club, before an accident resulted in him losing a leg following a road traffic in Carlow in 2000. The former league of Ireland player was pulled from the cab of his truck by fire fighters during the rescue.

The children really enjoyed putting themselves in the amputees footballer´s situation.

You can watch his story in the video below, interviewed by Sky Sport 3 some years ago, when the accident had already happened.

After that, he decided to help other amputees being football coach. Later, he became the coach of the Irish National Team, which played the World Cup in 2014 in Mexico. We even did some exercises with crutches!